As usual, he wore a crisp white shirt, tucked into light grey pants. His hair had been carefully brushed to the sides, and his glasses, making him look serious and shy at once, rested on the bridge of his nose.
"Hello," I answered, unable to control the slight flush blooming on my cheeks.
Something was endearing about how put-together he looked. It was almost counterproductive, as it took away some of that effortless charm he normally had, making him a little less striking even.
But the thought behind the effort did make him look cuter.
"This is for you."
His hand almost jerked out too fast in front of me, holding a small bouquet.
"Daisies," he said, his eyes darting away from mine already.
The white flowers with golden hearts seemed to greet me.
My lips parted in surprise, and I wish he had looked at me then to see the delight on my face.
"It's better than roses for a first date," he mumbled, still not meeting my eyes, lifting the bouquet slightly again for me to take.
My eyebrows slowly rose on my forehead, caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief. I accepted the flowers with both hands and brought them up to my nose, as I had seen people do in movies. It smelled even better than I had imagined.
"Thank you. They're beautiful," I said sincerely, admiring the perfection of the white petals.
V turned around already, and I followed behind.
"Did you find the place easily?" he asked with a glance behind his shoulder.
"Yes. I took the loop."
"Good," he nodded. "Apparently, for safety reasons, you're not supposed to meet someone at their home for a first date..." He frowned slightly, as though he didn't entirely understand this advice himself. "And since we live in the same place... I figured there was no need to meet there."
"It makes sense," I replied with a small nod and a smile, even though, truthfully, nothing about this situation made any real sense to me.
V seemed even stiffer than usual, his shoulders square, his jaws looking tight.
"It's right around the corner," he said, still looking ahead, and I noticed again the prominent veins showing on his hand as he pointed in our next direction.
I gulped, realizing I had been detailing his figure for too long, maybe.
We walked down a beautiful wooden path, small lights floating around, surrounded by beautiful vegetation.
"We're going to have dinner and a movie."
V stopped short in his tracks at the top of some wooden stairs, speaking these last words as if he had discovered them today. I glanced down at the place we had just arrived at and marveled at the view in front of me. The wooden steps led down into a vast, open space, where winding wooden paths branched off in different directions, each one leading to a small, cozy alcove in a round shape. On the far side, a massive white screen descended from the glass ceiling. But the most stunning part was the greenery all around: little palm trees scattered throughout, their fresh, earthy scent filling the air, as well as beautiful pink, yellow, and purple flowers everywhere.
Again, I followed behind V as he led us down one of these paths. He stopped short when he was about to enter the little alcove, and I almost bumped into him again.
"After you," he said curtly, holding his hand in the direction of the comfy seats around the table.
I was too captivated by our surroundings to pay much attention to his odd behavior. Leaning back against the soft cushions, I couldn't help but gaze up at the massive screen in front of us.
It was my first time in a movie theater.
"We're going to watch a movie?" I wanted to confirm, my eyes still wandering, taking in every beautiful detail around us: the warm couch, the floating lights illuminating the dark leaves, and the visible sunset's golden glow through the large glass bubble above us.
It was... mesmerizing.
"Yes," V replied next to me, "And we'll have dinner at the same time. I thought it would be more efficient this way."
I turned to look at him, but his face was looking down at his tablet again, his fingers busy on it. A small pout formed on my lips. Dating wasn't something I had much experience with, but efficient didn't seem like a term that should describe it.
I watched as more couples arrived and chose an alcove to sit. Tables had enough space between them to offer privacy and even allow the guests to talk aloud without bothering others.
When I looked back at V, he had joined me in observing our surroundings too, his fingers tapping impatiently on the table. Again, I couldn't help but look at the veins winding down the back of his hand, up to his wrist, and disappearing below his white shirt.
The faint music vibrating through the table took me out of my contemplation. The intricate wooden design moved, revealing another level right below. With wide eyes, I watched as exquisite plates of food appeared in front of us.
"It's a similar cuisine to the pizza we had last time," V explained, getting the dishes around the table and pouring some of the liquid content of a glass pitcher into two cups. "Caprese salad, spaghetti with roasted vegetables, lemon-infused crispy chickpeas, panna cotta with fresh berries, and minty lemonade," he pointed at each dish before offering me a glass with yellow and green sparkles swirling around.
Again, I had no idea what queezine meant, or even capraisee or panaquota.
I was just thrilled to get to try it all!
"Is this similar to what you drank last time?" I asked, admiring the bubble floating around the crystal glass.
"The wine?" A small chuckle escaped his lips before he grimaced at the memory. "No. No more wine for me."
Too bad, I thought.
The version of himself he had shown me that night was my favorite so far. He had been relaxed, open, even warm. I'll have to find a way to bring him back to that state of mind.
My fork picked up a pearly white ball in the salad, and I could feel my face lighting up as soon as I brought it to my mouth. It was delicious! I looked up at the glass ceiling, where the sunset's colors had changed from orange to a bright pink.
My mouth filled with that capresee salad, this moment couldn't have been more perfect.
Until V cleared his throat next to me.
"Can you tell me a random fun fact about you?"
My eyes fluttered with confusion.
"Sorry?" I asked, not sure if I had heard correctly.
He was looking down at his plate, calmly twirling long strands of pasta around his fork. I hadn't dared touch that dish yet, too intimidated by how tricky it looked to eat, but I watched as he skillfully gathered the delicious-smelling pasta with practiced ease.
"Can you think of a fun fact about yourself?" he repeated, his cold black eyes looking at me as he took the pasta to his mouth.
I froze, still not sure of where he was going with this. A vague memory came to my mind of having to play an icebreaker game with new coworkers at the clinic and having to come up with fun facts.
Here's a fun fact: I'm not a machina, I'm actually human.
I winced at my intrusive thoughts, and V must have sensed my discomfort because he changed the subject.
"Forget it," he waved his hand before taking a sip of his lemonade. "What's something on your bucket list then?" he followed up, his eyes still expectant on me.
This time, I showed genuine confusion on my face.
"My bucket list?"
"Yes. A list of things you want to do during your... life," he explained, clearing his throat before the last words.
Pay my debt.
That was all I could think of at that moment.
This first thought was loud and clear in my head. It was taking up so much space, I couldn't even dare to think of anything else to do with my life. What would be the purpose of dreaming about a bucket list when I had such a big roadblock to overcome first? It seemed wiser to compartmentalise things: first, pay my debt, then, give myself the time to dream. I had seen debt babies like me dreaming too soon, too far. Usually, they would lose focus because of it.
I wasn't going to lose focus.
I was going to clear half my debt with this mission. That was the only item on my bucket list.
For obvious reasons, I couldn't answer that to him.
So, I faked hesitation and genuinely wondered what kind of answer a ten-day-old machina would give.
Looking back at V, I noticed a glare on his glasses. The darkened sky made it clear he was using the screen feature, and it reminded me of that first day we met, when he went around the house with what seemed like a precise agenda.
My head tilted to the side, my eyes narrowing on the glare I could no longer ignore.
"Are you following a list right now?"
V didn't seem to expect anything else but an answer to his question. His eyes showed a brief panic as if he had never thought I could be catching up on those kinds of details.
He quickly tapped a napkin over his lips before unfolding it and taking his glasses off to clean the lenses.
"I... Mhum. Yes," he admitted, already pushing back the glasses on his nose. "Must-Ask First Date Questions To Get To Know Your Date Better," he quoted one of the headlines I saw on the kitchen's screen earlier. "It wasn't easy to find questions you could answer."
My eyebrows rose on my forehead. "Why not?"
"I mean... It's like you were born yesterday," he explained. "You probably don't know yet if you prefer the beach or the mountains... Or your favorite type of food, or... What did you want to be as a kid?"
I pinched my lips together, thinking about what he just said.
"I can't tell you what I wanted to be as a kid..." I began to answer, realizing that this wasn't a lie since I, indeed, never really let myself dream beyond my debt repayment. "But I can tell you I prefer the mountain."
"The mountain?"
V's whole figure showed surprise. He let go of his knife and fork on the table, leaning on his elbows and giving me his full attention.
"Yes," I continued, gathering my thoughts, although I could never quite settle when he looked at me like that. "I've never seen the beach... But I've seen the mountain. It looked very impressive," I said sincerely.
"Where did you see mountains?"
"From the top floor of the Love Machina Inc. building."
Although the onboarding day was the first time I had such a full view of the mountain range, I had caught a few glimpses of it when being moved between clinics.
V's eyes fluttered, as if he'd just remembered I was meant to be less than two weeks old.
"And this is my favorite type of food," I added, pointing at the dishes in front of us, hoping the change of subject would steer his thoughts away from the fact that I was supposed to be a machina. "You said it was the same type as the pizza we had? I like this one the most, then," I smiled to myself, knowing that this was the most sincere answer I could give today.
Whether I were a human or a Love Machina, the food I had tried over the past days was indeed the best I had ever had in my whole life. At the top of my ranking were the pizza we shared at Stellar Slices, and this sumptuous dinner.
A small smile twitched on his lips, looking quite amazed by my willingness to answer.
"You haven't tried this one yet," he said, sliding the spaghetti dish toward me. "Here, look." He demonstrated how to eat it, expertly twirling his fork around the pasta.
We each took a generous bite, our eyes still on each other. As the rich flavors hit my tongue, my eyes widened in delight. V gave me a slow, smug nod, his lips curling into a small smile, as if telling me "I told you so".
The lights dimmed around us, and the massive screen lit up. A series of messages appeared, highlighting the nearest emergency exits and bathrooms. The announcer's calming voice seemed to envelop us, as if coming from right behind our seats.
Some ads rolled in. As soon as V realized what it was, he let out a sigh, sinking deeper into the cushions and reaching for his tablet.
I, on the other hand, found them fascinating.
An elegant woman appeared on-screen, demonstrating the effortless convenience of a Cab, short for GlideCab, a personal high-speed capsule designed for seamless point-to-point travel. Available just one floor below every Loop station!
The next ad transported me to Piao Ghar's upcoming multi-garden sports event, where an athletic man leaped between suspended gardens, gripping a bright orange ball, before hitting a white one in the air. In one smooth motion, he grabbed a massive racquet and launched a yellow ball flying directly toward the screen. I flinched, startled by the near-perfect realism. For a second, I thought it would leave the screen and hit us!
Ads after ads played, each more visually stunning and engaging than the last. I could have watched them forever, until, suddenly, the screen faded to black.
The movie was starting.
I exhaled, realizing I had been leaning forward the entire time, my elbows resting on the table, completely absorbed by the flashing images of this world I was so eager to know more of. I eased back into the cushions, figuring it was a more appropriate posture for watching a film.
In the dark now, it was difficult to ignore how close we were to each other. It was something to sit across from each other, at the kitchen's table or a restaurant... It was something else to share an alcove in the dark.
V must have felt the same because, the next moment, he shifted his body so we wouldn't be as close.
At first, I couldn't focus on the movie. V was utterly still. I couldn't even hear his breathing, while I found myself fidgeting, hyperaware of the small space that separated us.
But slowly, the story unfolding on the screen gripped my attention. At the clinic, we had access to movies and a small screen, but it was often the same ones from clinic to clinic, and I hadn't seen anything new in what felt like forever.
This one was an action movie where New Yuan City's special forces were on a special operation to save the kidnapped women they loved - wives, daughters, fiancés - from a group of terrorists.
At some point in the middle of it, V pushed a plate of the panaquota toward me, and I savoured the sweetness in silence as I admired the bravery of the paratroopers jumping into the enemy's territory. My chest warmed up as one of the agents, his face streaked with dirt and sweat, found his wife locked in a cage. Their reunion was emotional. When it was over and the lights turned back on, I blinked, pulling myself back to reality.
"Did you like it?" V asked from his side on the alcove, his fists still tucked below his biceps, in the same position he seemed to have held for the past hour.
"It was amazing!" I spoke in one breath.
The joy of the experience must have been painted all over my face because V observed me for a moment longer, a small smile on his face.
"Are you still hungry? We can order more."
I held my hands over my full stomach. "I think I ate too much," I admitted with a small chuckle. That feeling of feeling so full was also a new one I had rarely experienced before.
"Let's take a small walk then," he offered, getting on his feet and stretching his arms over his head.
🗓️ Next chapters: this Thursday, August 14th 🗓️
In the next chapters, we'll continue the first date ☺️❤️
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE 🥺
Thank you for being here ❤️